What beautiful napkins! I wouldn't want to use those either. How could I let someone dirty them?

My friend found some cute paper napkins that were printed like lined notebook paper, and she used them at an event she was having with a school supplies theme, which included giving away highlighters, post-it notes, etc.. So maybe you just need the right event, for it to be worth it.

I also like... hmm, not sure what word I want... but, like, those little cubes of note paper that sit on your desk and you grab one and write a quick note on it. Like scrap paper, but purpose-made. And not sticky. I had a bunch at home of all types--the rainbow spiral, some fancy ones that are quite large with a flip-up cover. Sometimes they come with a pen that goes through a hole in the corner of the paper and keeps them all together. I've been bringing a couple of stacks to work and using them there--sometimes I need something bigger than a post-it note/not sticky, but smaller than my steno pad, that I can easily throw away later. I had a pad an inch thick and I'm getting close to the end of it.

I also keep one on my kitchen counter at home, and write down groceries as I think of them. That one is really quite large--you could easily use it as stationary instead and write a TY note on it or something. And the paper quality is really amazing and thick. It feels slightly wasted just to be used for my groceries and then cut into little squares because the whole grocery list doesn't take a page... but then again, it wasn't being used at all before, so...

I just bought a paper making kit! (A little cheap one, like for kids, but its a start.) to make your pulp you tear up old papers, put them in an empty soda bottle and add water, apparently 24-72 hours later (you have to shake it every 12 hours or so, I'm gonna shake mine every time i pass it) you have pulp and can make paper.

All my old notebooks I need to throw away but couldn't bear to? Gonna be my NEW notebook! (That's the plan anyway. )

I just bought a paper making kit! (A little cheap one, like for kids, but its a start.) to make your pulp you tear up old papers, put them in an empty soda bottle and add water, apparently 24-72 hours later (you have to shake it every 12 hours or so, I'm gonna shake mine every time i pass it) you have pulp and can make paper.

All my old notebooks I need to throw away but couldn't bear to? Gonna be my NEW notebook! (That's the plan anyway. )

You can speed up the process by putting the paper and water in a blender-- then you're ready to pull sheets in minutes. I have a friend who does colored pencil art, and keeps the shavings every time she sharpens her pencils to use as inclusions in her paper. It makes pretty paper!

There is an odd little shop that opened up in town around 12 months ago, that I have wanted to go into, but avoided, because it's full of high-end stationery. Well, I went in the other day.

It is set up like an old-fashioned print shop at the rear, the front is full of some of the most fabulous niche products. Fountain pens, wax seals and wax, pencils, pens, notebooks, labels, book marks... printed books with full-page glossy reproductions of wallpaper designs from all over the world, gift wrap in amazing designs, batik printed paper, the most gorgeous Japanese prints. Desk organisers. Antique filing cabinets. Old print blocks. Paper twine in every colour you can imagine.

I walked through and kept my hands in my pockets. It was like Aladdin's cave of stationery. Sob!

Logged

Out on the patio we'd sit,And the humidity we'd breathe,We'd watch the lightning crack over canefieldsLaugh and think, this is Australia.

I've always loved office supplies. Back to school was always so exciting, with new notebooks, folders, pens etc. Everything would be pristine, unwritten in - it made it seem like anything was possible that year.

I also loved buying stationary as a teen, all different kinds. I still have some that I've had since I was in my mid teens, and I am 47 now. From thick paper with bold designs to dainty, super thin sheets with barely visible floral designs, I loved it all.

As for pens, I am not so concerned with brand, but for me they must be not fine tipped, and most important of all, they must be fat. I don't like using normal thickness pens, for some reason the rounder ones feel more comfortable in my hand.

Lastly, are you all ready to be jealous now? I work for the company that makes Post-It Notes. Our supply room is an absolute dream of every kind and color Post-It you could want. My favorite are the 6" by 4" lined note pads, preferably in blue. We also have all the fun dispensers, themed Post-Its and other accessories available at a considerable discount in our company store, which is just a couple flights of stairs below me. My actual job has nothing to do with the manufacture or sale of Post-Its, but it sure is a nice fringe benefit.

Awesome ideas! The high-end stationary store sounds so cool. I love looking at stores like that, but with everything being so expensive, I never end up buying anything. Considering I'm going to write in the notebooks, and enjoy that, but eventually throw them away, I just don't feel like I ought to spend $20+ on just one. For those who, say, actively journal and keep all the books, I think it would be pretty cool.

There's a chain called Papyrus that I see sometimes--there's one in this mall that I go to about once a year. When I first started going, maybe ten years ago, they had a lot more notebooks, but lately it seems like they're almost entirely boxes of cards, like for thank you cards or Christmas cards. And they have a big corner where you can order custom invitations, like for a wedding. It seems like their business is going in that direction now, which is cool for people who need those, but not really what I'm looking for.

Making paper and books is fun, too! A friend of mine was into that for a while. She made me a cute little book that she stitched together herself, which I still use to make odd notes in.

This week I filled up a bound journal I was writing in, an older one about 8" x 5" with a blue fuzzy cover. I have continued the story in a plain old Mead Five Star hardbound composition book--not very snazzy, but it has 100 pages/200 sheets and I thought the story deserved this after filling three smaller notebooks. I finished off three Uniball Jetstream pens in a row--I think they're ballpoints, but very smooth. Two were the new BLX types and I have to take back what I said before, the "black-infused blue" ink was a lovely dark turquoise and the "black-infused purple" ink was, well, purple. They also wrote for a good long time and, as I said, were quite smooth for ballpoints. However, I wasn't completely satisfied with them, as they started to get gummy at the tips; and from about halfway through their use, the ink began to come out inconsistently, such that the writing would be light, then dark, then light, then dark, like it was about to run out any second. I don't like thinking more about the pen than the writing, you know?

Now I'm using a ballpoint I got from a work conference, unknown make. It has a heavy metal barrel, which is a little more weighty than I'd like, but I'm sure it will be fine for the time being.

This is where I spend a LOT of my drooling-over-stationery time. We got our wedding invitations done there, and I've bought an awful lot of pretty pretty notebooks from them...

NOOOOOOOO!!!! Okay, the only thing that saves me is that it's based in Australia, and although I couldn't quickly find their shipping policy, I'm going to assume the cost would be astronomical to send things to me in the US. BTW, I placed an order with JetPens last night for assorted little memo books and random pens--TO GIVE TO OTHERS--for Christmas.

This is where I spend a LOT of my drooling-over-stationery time. We got our wedding invitations done there, and I've bought an awful lot of pretty pretty notebooks from them...

NOOOOOOOO!!!! Okay, the only thing that saves me is that it's based in Australia, and although I couldn't quickly find their shipping policy, I'm going to assume the cost would be astronomical to send things to me in the US. BTW, I placed an order with JetPens last night for assorted little memo books and random pens--TO GIVE TO OTHERS--for Christmas.